The following might help other members who have previously thought that a certificate of destruction (or COD) cannot be reversed - it can.
All of this is to the best of my knowledge, so please feel free to correct me on any points
Firstly, for those who aren't familiar with this, nowadays when a vehicle is passed into a scrap yard / recyclers to be scrapped, the breaker is obliged to notify the DVLA that it is being broken. They do this over the internet using the registration number and DVLA then put a 'scrap marker' against that reg no. This marker is known as the COD and is logged to stop the identity being used on a stolen vehicle or similar.
Now to what I did. Some of you will have read about X702UOK, the Tourer which had been scrapped and a COD issued by DVLA, but has recently been reversed without any real problems
My initial contact with DVLA was to send in the following:
a) Letter explaining the situation and that I wished for the COD to be reversed, giving details of when and where car purchased.
b) Copy receipt from the breaker, showing car sold as spares.
c) Copies of service history book, old tax discs, etc. and anything else available which proves your cars identity.
d) Photos showing vehicle exterior, interior, engine bay.
e) Photos of all chassis number stamps (engine bay, windscreen & pillar plates).
You should also complete and send in a V62 form (application for a reg doc) along with the fee - I didn't do this initially as all I was trying to do was get the car put back into the system, however they sent everything back asking for it, which caused additional delay.
Once this was with DVLA, the process was complete within a couple of days and the reg doc arrived the following week - overall taking about 5 weeks (but could of saved maybe a fortnight if V62 and £25 had been sent originally...
).
Anyhow, the main point of interest here was when I was talking to DVLA, I queried whether this reversal process was a common thing, as I'd understood it couldn't be done ?
She said that in the past it had been a non-reversible action, but the breakers often enter incorrect reg numbers by mistake (and hence end up applying a scrap marker to a car that's still out running around
) so DVLA had to change things to make their system allow for a reversal. I got the distinct impression that they are doing this all day and as long as sufficient evidence is provided to confirm the car is 'physical', then it's really no problem
Please remember, I cannot provide a 100% guarantee of success or that DVLA won't change the process at some point, but it worked for me and I'd happily do it again as they were really quite helpful.
So hope this helps someone else to save a good car, either on this forum or another. Good luck with it (pm me if you need any other info).
Paul.